The Right Thing
by BunnyEars89
Summary: The Land of Ooo has fallen into conflict. Finn and Florence  OC  have to set things right. Rated M for death, torture, cursing and sex. Better summary inside.
1. The Bite of the Axe

This is an experiment. I've never written fantasy before, so I thought I'd give it a shot. This is rated M for torture, cursing and sex in later chapters.

This first chapter is from near the end. Chapter two will make it clear.

**CHAPTER ONE:** THE BITE OF THE AXE

My chin met the chopping block rather harshly. I couldn't see anything except the sunlight filtered through the black cloth bag over my head. So my chin smashed into the block rather than just touching it. The block was warm. I wondered if that was from another's blood or from the bright sunshine. It had been so sunny and warm that spring morning. I wondered why I had to be executed on such a nice day. Then I heard something over the crowd.

"I'm so sorry, Florence!" It was Finn.

"It's okay, Finn!" I yelled back, letting the tears run down my face. I lost all sense of pride and just wished to live. I breathed the heavy air in the bag, feeling vomit threaten. I waited for the sharp bite of the executioner's axe. I could almost feel it hovering over me. Of course I couldn't, but my imagination was running wild. I could feel the smile, the course beard hair, the stinking breath of the executioner inside my head. I could see him staring at me with sparkling eyes, wanting my death just as much as I didn't want it.

My tears stuck the filth of the bag to my cheeks. My throat felt as if it was filled with glue. My heart beat faster and faster with each passing moment. Any moment, the bite of the axe, any moment, the bite of the axe, any moment, the bite of the axe…

"BUBBLEGUM! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!" Finn screamed. "BUBBLEGUM LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ALL OF US! EVERYONE! YOUR QUEEN HAS BETRAYED YOU, MADE SLAVES OF YOU, KILLED YOU! DON'T BE LIKE ME. FIGHT! FIGHT! FI-"

My stomach heaved and I vomited into the cloth bag. Tears uncontrollable. I knew this day had been coming since I met Finn the Human, but I didn't expect it so soon. I thought back to that first day with Finn and waited for the bite of the axe. Any moment… Any moment… Any moment…

A/N: Review. Let me know if you want more chapters.


	2. Prince Someone

Please tell me what you think of the OCs.

**CHAPTER TWO:** PRINCE SOMEONE

I loathed Prince Someone from Somewhere. I stared at him with sharp eyes from across the council room table, sitting up straight, feeling the weight of my golden crown heavier than usual today. He stared back, smirking, dark hair slicked back, sitting tall under his own crown. His forces were at the gate of my palace and I had no army to speak of. Wyn had not needed an army since my great grandfather's reign, and even then they were a peace keeping force. No one had started a war in Ooo for over a hundred years. Not until this spring. Not until this day. Not until Prince Someone.

I criticized myself for not seeing this sooner. He had been trying to take my kingdom from under me since I was born. He would bring me gifts, fill my head and heart with talk of marriage, and I never fell for any of it. Now he was here as a conqueror, and was a hundred times more pompous, which I hadn't thought possible. We sat in the council room alone, trying to negotiate peace, but I knew how this would end. I would have to give up Wyn or let my people be slaughtered. I had decided early in the negotiations that homeless was better than dead, but I knew my people wouldn't see it that way. They would see me as weak, or as a traitor for not marrying Prince Someone when I had the chance. I hadn't known I was putting them in such great danger by turning him away.

At one point I had deeply considered it. Prince Someone was handsome, tall and generally suave. I still thought he was handsome, but I had learned about his temper and his bad habit of mistreating subjects. He believed in slavery, forced labor and heavy taxes. He believed that the people were there to serve him. I believed the opposite. And because of that, I had failed Wyn. I should have forced an army, I should have asked for more taxes to pay off Someone… Now they would be slaves to a cruel master and I would most likely be banished.

He smiled at me, green eyes sparkling. "Do you forfeit your kingdom Princess Florence?"

"Do you promise not to harm my people if I do?"

He smiled at me, in his usual charming way. That was the worst thing about Prince Someone. He was actually charming, romantic, and dashing. But I had gotten over that and learned to hate all of it. "Define harm."

"Don't kill them. Can you manage that?" I growled.

"Yes, I can. Your land will be safe in my hands. Oh, wait. It's not yours anymore." He laughed. I felt tears sting my eyes.

"And what about me?"

He turned his eyes to me and I could feel the anger rolling off of him. His temper snapped on just like that. "Get the fuck out of here. I never want to see you again."

"That's too bad, I was hoping to see you again… in Hell."

His hand flew across the table and before I could react, he had grabbed a handful of my hair. I screamed. He pulled me over the table by the long lock of hair, causing my crown to fall to the table then the floor. My council rushed in. They stood in shock as Prince Someone made me kneel before him.

"Bow to the new Prince!" He bellowed at me. All I felt was anger. No fear. I spit in his face. His face flamed bright red and he reached to his side, grabbing a long dagger. My council gasped.

"No!" Shouted the Mistress of Education. "Please, your majesty, spare her life." I looked to her worried face, all their faces. I felt the pain of failure physically. No, not failure, it was Prince Someone's dagger being dragged across my cheek. Warm liquid fell down my face, dripped onto my dress. The Mistress screamed. He did the same to my other cheek. I could barely hold in a screech. My council just watched. What could they do? They knew that Someone was their new Prince. To disobey him, or give him orders was almost certain to be punished with banishment or even execution.

Then Someone curled his fist around the handle of the dagger, repeatedly punching me in the face. I screamed and tried to get away, but he held fast to my hair. The weight of the dagger added to the weight of his fist was unbearable. I felt one of my eyes start to swell to the point of closing. I felt my nose and eye socket crack.

"NOW BOW!" He screamed.

"NEVER!" I said. He let go of my hair and started kicking me. Many of my council looked away or began to cry. I could feel my blood vessels break, my ribs crack, the air in my lungs being forced out by each blow. I tried to cover myself with my arms, but that just resulted in broken fingers.

"BOW TO ME!" His voice boomed in the council chamber and was followed by silence; then weeping. I couldn't take anymore. I touched my forehead to his feet and sobbed. For the last humiliation, he gathered my knee-length red hair in his hand and cut it at the nape of my neck. Then he took a handful of what was left, forcing me to look at my council. "How does pretty Princess Florence look? Does she look too good for anyone, now?" He asked, laughing. Then he bent his mouth down to my ear and said, "Now get the fuck out of here and never come back."

And I left, never to return.

A/N: What you think? Review.


	3. Rebel Status

I DO NOT OWN ADVENTURE TIME.

This chapter is critical. Our heroes appear in the next one. PLEASE, let me know how I'm doing. I like hearing from you. :D

**CHAPTER THREE:** REBEL STATUS

I ran all spring and into the summer then, in the fall, I got to the Eastern Mountains. In early summer I learned that Prince Someone had married into a large kingdom. Once he was King there he started sending out warrants. My head was the first to bear a price. I bore rebel status with many, many others, but I was the first, and I took pride in that. Of all the people Someone hated, I was number one. I would smile maliciously every time I saw a wanted poster detailed with my face, name, and status. And even though I would take joy in these things, it didn't make my life easier. In fact, I couldn't tell if the heat was from that long summer or the knowledge that I was being hunted in Someone's ever expanding kingdom.

Expansion was Someone's clear motive and news of his conquests traveled faster than fire over the Land of Ooo. Many of those first kingdoms conceded quickly, the monarchs banished, as I was, but I was the only one that warranted a beating. The mutilation was specific to my case.

The Ice kingdom and The Cloud kingdom were completely abandoned before Someone even showed up, looking like complete ghost towns when the army arrived at the gates. Some kingdoms tried to build armies, but they fell easily to Someone's superiorly trained forces. There were a few exceptions, but not many. There were rumors that the Lumpy Space kingdom fought for months, killing a good portion of Someone's air force and taking out an air force base in a counter attack. I felt proud to know Lumpy Space Princess when I saw her wanted poster. She had always been awkward, but she had found her calling now; warrior queen.

By the beginning of winter, I had made it over the Eastern Mountains. In the foot hills of the Eastern Mountains was a village. The people that lived there were The Roughhousers, and Someone hadn't dare to touch their land yet, but I knew I wasn't safe there. The price on my head was temptingly high.

Exhausted and heavy hearted I continued through the village, not even stopping at the well for water. Then just outside the village, I found a home dug into the hillside, its door open. I looked inside. There was only one room, completely empty. Snow was blowing around inside, coming in from the chimney and the open door. I walked inside. It was abandoned, so I closed the door behind me. I wasn't planning on staying long, but I'd get a good night's rest.

The first night it had been about shelter. The second night I cleared out the snow. The third night I made a fire and laid beside the fire place to sleep in the warm soot. I slept and slept and slept. I had fallen asleep with three logs crackling happily and woke up to a pile of cold ashes. I hadn't realized how tired I was. I hadn't realized that my boots were broken, that my feet were cracked, that I still wasn't fully healed from the brutal beating was given three seasons earlier, and that my chest ached from my broken heart.

During those traveling months I had learned what it took to survive. I had stolen food, drank from puddles, and traded my innocence for a long coat and boots. My heart ached from all of that and the loss of my kingdom. That was the deepest hurt. Prince Someone had taken what my father had promised to me, and what his father promised him, and what my grandfather's father promised him. He took what I was supposed to give my child some day. He had taken my dearest possession and all my friends and allies with it. I truly had nothing.

I stayed a fourth night, a fifth, until spring, until the next winter, and the one after that. Every spring, planting vegetables, grains and tending fruit trees brought me a huge sum of money in the fall to live on for the winter.

The Roughhousers' village became a rebel outpost. The Roughhousers would send messages and supplies to various rebel camps in different kingdoms. Soon the general store had a whole wall filled with wanted posters signed by the wanted themselves. I noticed my poster on the wall on one of my visits and the shop keep, Bruce, convinced me to sign it. I smiled as I signed my name with a flourish. 'Fuck you, Someone.' I thought, dotting the 'I' in Princess with a heart. As I pulled back from my own poster, I looked to the others. There were a few painted with red words. A few said 'dead', others 'captured', some 'missing', then there was the worst notation of all 'traitor'. Just as the number of posters grew, so did the number of ones marked with red.

One day in early spring I broke the handle of my shovel trying to pull a stump out of my field. I headed into the village, and to Bruce's shop. I walked in to find a huge group of men gathered around the outlaw wall, speaking to each other in lively tones.

"Bruce! What's going on?" I yelled to the man behind the counter.

"Florence! Hey, everyone! It's Princess Florence of Wyn Gardens!"

I was instantly mobbed by men giving me hand shakes and pats on the back, telling me I was a legend, asking me if Prince Someone gave me my scars. I was in awe. I had spent the last five years being a simple farmer in no man's land, and now I was a rebel darling.

"What's going on fellas?" I asked, still confused as to why there was a gathering.

"New posters. See for yourself."

They parted and I looked at the wall where there hung four new, _huge_ posters. I read them out loud.

"B-Mo wanted for high treason, dead or alive. Lady Rainacorn wanted for high treason and conspiracy, dead or alive. Jake the Dog wanted for high treason and conspiracy, dead or alive. Finn the Human wanted for the attempted murder of his majesty King Someone, high treason and conspiracy, dead or alive. Reward one million gold pieces." I let it all sink in. I couldn't believe it. 'One million gold pieces,' I thought. "Who are they?" I asked no one in particular.

"You heard that Prince Someone married Princess Bubblegum, right?" Said a gruff voice from behind me. The rest of the crowd was silent.

"Yes, I heard about that."

"They were Bubblegum's friends."

"Seems to me like they were looking out for her." I said definitively. "I know Prince Someone. I wouldn't want my friend married to that bastard. Why did it take them five years to do something?"

"Who knows?"

All of us just stood there looking at the posters. My heart went out to Finn the Human. He was absolutely screwed. Eventually the crowd left, Bruce replaced the handle of my shovel and gave me a stumping axe for free.

"Bruce, you don't have to give me this." I said, feeling the warmth of friendship for the first time in a long time.

"I'm saving myself time. If I don't give you this, I'll be fixing that shovel every other day until you get that stump out. I know you, you won't quit until the job is done, and I saw that stump. It's probably got another six shovel handles in it."

We laughed. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I looked at the full bearded, big bellied Bruce with sparkling eyes. "Thank you, Bruce. I'll pay you back."

"Maybe you'll just owe me a favor." He smiled.

"Okay, I'm alright with that." I said, then looked back to the new posters, surrounded by a sea of red posters.

"I met them once."

"Yeah?" I said, continuing to stare into the inky, menacing eyes of Finn the Human.

"Yeah, I met Finn and Jake once. I've never seen the other two."

"What are they like?"

"Steadfastly heroic."

"So, you're not surprised."

"Not a bit. And let's be honest, they're probably our last hope. The vampires have gone back to the Nightosphere, The Ice King disappeared, and Lumpy Space Princess is rumored to be dying. Things are bleak for the free people of Ooo."

"You know it's a bleak time when people are looking to The Ice King for anything." I growled. I hated the Ice King almost as much as I hated Prince Someone. "So what are the chances the human makes it to the solstice?"

Bruce smiled at me. "Don't underestimate Finn. You're a human too, aren't you?"

"You have a point." I laughed, making my way to the door, taking one last look at Finn the Human. "We'll do anything to live."

"And fight another day." Bruce finished for me.

"Yeah, to fight another day. See you later, Bruce."

A/N: I need to know if I should keep going with this or what. Thanks for the reviews I already got, but I need moar. :D


	4. M'Lady

Hey there! Here you go. :D

**CHAPTER FOUR:** M'LADY

It only took until late spring for B-Mo's poster to be labeled 'missing'. Bruce painted it as the villagers and I watched. We heard that he was last seen wandering in the tundra just north of us, but no one had seen him since. It was assumed that he got lost in a storm and either was buried, frozen or dead. No one knew for sure, so we labeled him missing, passed around drinks and toasted to his health.

The solstice came quick enough and Finn was still alive. Jake was alive too, and they were helping refugees of the Lumpy Space kingdom and Breakfast kingdom. The Breakfast kingdom had a small rebellion earlier in the year. It was the worst defeat so far. Prince Someone lined up the rebels in the palace courtyard and killed them in front of Breakfast Princess, who was in irons. She saluted them before Someone's forces bayoneted them. So Prince Someone killed her too. Loyalty to anyone other than Someone was punishable by immediate execution, so people fled their home kingdoms to live in the refugee camps. They were terrible, poorly supplied establishments, so Finn and Jake were doing everything they could to keep the refugees fed. I was impressed by the stories I heard.

After long days in the fields under the summer sun, I would go to Bruce's and listen to travelers, rebels and criminals tell stories of Finn heroism. Not all of the stories were true. I knew they weren't because some of the stories about me weren't true. But I wanted to believe. Bruce and I started retelling some of the more far fetched stories. I think we wanted people to believe like we did.

"He killed fifty guys with one swipe of the giant sword, cutting open their middles. Guts were spilling every where and the fire pups were eating the guts before they even hit the ground. Then Finn threw his sword at Prince Someone who used an old lady as a human shield. Finn was like 'Nooooo! Prince Someone, you tyrant!' and then they fought for hours until Prince Someone threw dirt in Finn's eyes and ran off into the night." Bruce finished the story. I smiled. The traveler laughed and laughed. He knew the story wasn't real, but on a cool summer's eve you just wanted to hear a nice tall tale. I laid my head on the counter of Bruce's shop, one hand holding the sweating mug containing my cold beer, the other on the handle of my stump axe. It was my weapon of choice now-a-days.

"So what's with the axe?" The stranger asked.

"The Whywolves have been all over hill country the last few days. They're restless. No one knows _why_." I smiled. "Get it? _No one knows why_."

Bruce looked at me with a completely straight face. "You're terrible."

"But seriously, the Whywolves will fuck you up." I said, hefting the axe over my shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bruce."

"M'lady," he said bowing. He'd never done that before and it made my stomach turn. I felt like he was showing me a level of respect I hadn't earned. 'You're royalty,' I told myself, 'there's nothing wrong with people showing you respect.' But there was something in my gut that said it was wrong, even if it was a joke. What was so special about me? Nothing.

"Goodnight, good sir." I said, bowing back. It was the best I could do.

Just as I walked out the door I saw people rushing the store. I held my axe up and found myself mute. I wanted to call for Bruce, but my mouth wouldn't move. Then I recognized the men. It was some of the villagers.

"Florence! Prince Someone is raiding the refugee camp in the Green River Valley! We have to go and help the refugees fight back!"

"Why is he raiding a camp! They don't have anything he needs!" I said, feeling fury fill my whole body.

"He's looking for Finn, Jake and Lady Rainacorn. Finn's there, Florence. If Someone kills him, Ooo will lose hope. You know that. We need to go and help them." The men looked to me. It wasn't the first time they treated me as their leader, but it was the first time I was called to make a decision for them.

"Okay. You men, go. The women and I will stay behind and prepare for the injured. And, Barry," I said to one of the men the others looked up to. "Retreat is not defeat. Just protect the camp; nothing fancy. And… Leave the dead. Come back here as soon as possible." They all nodded. I couldn't believe I spoke with such authority. Who was I to give commands? I ran back in the store and told Bruce what was going on. He grabbed his sword and I was suddenly unsure of my command to ride out to Green Valley.

"Bruce, you don't have to go. In fact, stay here."

"Everyone else is going. Why wouldn't I go?" He was legitimately confused. I was hoping he would have just understood and not asked any questions.

"It's dangerous for us women to stay behind alone. Stay and protect us." I lied. I just didn't want Bruce to go into battle. I needed him to be here. I needed him to be my friend. He couldn't die. He bought the lie and walked back behind the counter.

"There are a bunch of blankets upstairs," he said, rifling through one of the cupboards behind the counter. "Can you go get them?"

"Sure," I smiled, climbing the stairs for the first time. I walked right into the living room and saw a portrait over the fireplace that shocked me. It was Bruce, only thinner and with a shorter beard, and a woman. She was pretty; really, really pretty. Then I wondered where she was. She must have… Died or left him. Then I remembered I was supposed to be grabbing blankets. They were every where. All of them were hand sewn. A closer looked revealed hearts on every one of them along with 'Bruce and Mary' sewn into the corners. She didn't leave him. Not if she loved him this much. I sat on the lumpy couch for a minute, thinking of what a poor friend I must have been, not knowing that Bruce once had a wife. And a good wife at that.

I walked downstairs, blankets piled in my arms. Bruce ripping sheets bed sheets and table cloths into strips to be used as bandages.

"You okay, Florence? You have a tear," he said sweetly.

"Oh, it's just that these blankets are so lovely." I smiled.

He knew what I meant, nodded and went back to ripping strips. Tonight was going to be Hell.

We waited in the village square, make shift beds of blankets laid out of the desperately injured. Our eyes, adjusting to the dark, stayed fixed on the horizon. About an hour after dark the first wave of injured arrived. It was mostly burn wounds. In the chaos of the raid, the camp had caught fire. These people weren't the ones who stayed to battle. We would get even more burn injuries and start seeing slash and stab wounds soon enough. The women worked quickly as the children gathered aloe from every house. With quick handed women and fast footed children we were done dressing the first wave of injured before the second came in.

The second wave was more burn victims. We dressed them just as quickly as the others, but there was no third wave. We waited for hours. Then, as the sun broke, one of the Roughhousers came over the hill and held his blood covered sword above his head.

"VICTORY! VICTORY! VICTORY!" He yelled as the rest of the Roughhousers and refugees came over the hill, running to meet their families. Of course there were some injuries and there were some fatalities. Quite a few people were missing. They had run into the mountains when the army arrived. But overall it was a stunning victory.

"Barry!" I screamed upon seeing the man. He ran to me. "Where is Finn the Human?" I whispered.

"We carried him up to Bruce's. He is… injured. It is not a life threatening wound, but he will need time to recover." He said, looking at his feet.

"Barry, I need you and your officers to put together a report for me. I also need the Roughhousers to build a list of those who are missing. Then make copies of that list to send to surrounding villages. Send with that, a message to rebel camps about what happened at Green Valley last night. Make sure they know Prince Someone got his ass handed to him by the rebels. I'm going to see Finn."

Barry smiled at that. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Come up to Bruce's soon with that report!" Then I ran for Bruce's shop, my heart pounding. I was finally going to meet Finn the Human.

A/N: FINNNNNNNNNNNN! Next chapter. I promise to update soon, if you review!


	5. The Pain of Others

****I do not own Adventure Time with Finn and Jake.****

**CHAPTER FIVE:** THE PAIN OF OTHERS

"Stay calm. His wound is bad. If you freak out, it'll freak him out. Okay?" Bruce's large hands held my slim shoulders firmly. I nodded. I didn't know if I'd be able to talk when I got in there. I was going to be star struck and horrified by his slashed leg, which had left blood all over Bruce's place. I had taken the stairs slow because they were so slick. I guess I had had my share of horrific wounds, but that had been a long time ago, and it had been my face. I could handle my own pain fine, but the pain of others was hard for me to bear.

My shaking hand grasped the door knob of Bruce's room, finding blood there too. I pushed the door open to see two men cutting dead flesh away from a huge gash. There was a light over the bed that was focused down to Finn's leg, aiding the men at work.

"Who are you?" Finn said through clenched teeth, holding out a dagger, shining silver under the intense light.

"I am Princess Florence, heir to the throne of Wyn Gardens. And you're Finn the Human."

He relaxed. "Princess Florence? You're a legend. You spit in Someone's face."

"I did." I said as if it was a question.

"People say that you run this place. You gave the order to ride out tonight."

"I guess you could say that I'm a leader of sorts. I hear you met my general Barry. What did you think?" I asked, standing beside the bed now, avoiding looking at all the blood.

"He's a conservative leader. He didn't risk anymore than he had to, and the men respected his wishes." I nodded. That meant a lot. "Come here. I want to see you scars." He said, moving a bit, making the men working on him grip him harder. He put the dagger on the bedside table and beckoned me.

I sat on the floor next to the bed. Finn the Human took me by the chin and pulled me into the light. Then he took a good, long look at me. So, I looked at him too. His eyes weren't dark like the ink on the poster led me to believe, they were blue, and they were soft, kind, not menacing. I had imagined meeting Finn several times, but I had never imagined this. I never imagined that he would know who I was. I never imagined he'd look at me like this. I never imagined him this… vulnerable.

"Someone said he made your poster without scars to remind you that you used to be beautiful." He said quietly. I wanted to pull away. I didn't want to know this. "I think he was wrong. You're more beautiful now. You have strength written in your face."

I didn't know what to say. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a key. "This is something I stole from a Door Lord. Use it to get to South Camp. That's where Jake and Lady are. I need to know if they're alright."

I held the key in my hand and wondered how I was supposed to use it. "The key already leads to South Camp. Just throw it." He said, touching my arm with his rough hand. I looked into his eyes again. They were so kind. He also looked… young. His eyes were bright and young, but he had slight crows feet, worry lines in his forehead, and frown lines around his mouth. It seemed to me that he was aging rather quickly.

"Are you alright? Is it too much to ask?" He said, after I had spent an extended period of time staring at him.

"No, I just… Can I borrow your dagger too?"

He picked it up and handed it to me. "Don't do more than you have to. These people need you." Finn said, looking up to the door. I looked to the door. Bruce and Barry were standing there. They nodded to me, smiling through their heavy beards. Again, I felt like they were making me too important. I was a nobody.

I took a deep breath and tossed the key to the floor. There was a burst of smoke and then a tiny door appeared. It started to unfold, making loud cracking noises. As it unfolded it got larger and larger until it was large enough for me to crawl through, then crouch through and then it was large enough to walk through.

I put my hand over my pounding heart. That had terrified me. I looked at Finn wide-eyed and he smiled at me. Well, he tried to smile.

"Ready, Princess?" He asked me.

"Please, call me Florence. That goes for you too, Bruce." I said, feeling a bit nervous.

"Yes, ma'am, I mean, Florence." He laughed.

"What about me?" Asked Barry. I gave him a sharp look. "Okay, Princess."

"So…?" Finn asked. I had never answered his question.

"I am ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready." I said, crouching down and stuffing the dagger in my boot. When I straightened up, I looked to Barry and Bruce.

"Need someone to go with you?" They asked in unison, trying to fit through the door at the same time. I laughed as they bumped together.

"No thanks fellas, you've done enough tonight. Plus, I'm tough. I will be fine." They looked crestfallen, but backed down. "Finn, I'll be back with news as soon as possible. Hang in there." He nodded slowly, and my heart went out to him.

Finally I faced the door and took a deep breath. For all we knew South Camp was fine, but I had a feeling in my gut that it wasn't. I had a feeling I would open the door and find complete chaos. I steeled myself and put my hand on the door knob, assuring myself that nothing could shake me. In ten seconds I would be the baddest thing on the other side of that door. No doubt. No fear. I turned the knob.

Black smoke was all I could see on the other side. Everyone present looked to me, and I looked to the door.

"I'll be back," I said, stepping into the sand of the Southern Desert and the black smoke of war.

A/N: Sorry it's so short! The next chapter is probably going to be pretty long. So, yay!


	6. The Peppermint Man

**I do not own Adventure Time with Finn and Jake.**

**CHAPTER SIX: **THE PEPPERMINT MAN

The first thing I saw on the other side of the door was half of a man. I had only ventured about twenty feet through the sand in the blinding sting smoke. His face was contorted in agony, and his guts lay about him in the sand, shining red in the rising sun. For a moment I thought he was still moving, but it was just my mind playing tricks on me. He was most assuredly dead. I looked at him for long moments, perhaps I knew his face. I tried to recognize him. My vision tunneled around his face; his twisted face. I didn't recognize him. Then I heard something near me.

I realized whatever happened to this man could happen to me. This man was missing half of his body. I wondered who, or what did this to him. I listened sharply, trying to hear over the roaring fire. Then I saw the source of the sound. I was a peppermint man struggling underneath a collapsed shelter.

'The Candy Kingdom,' I thought, shock filling my body. 'The Candy Kingdom attacked here.' I felt like shoving Finn's knife through the candy man's heart, but we needed him. He knew what happened here, and he was _going_ to tell me.

"Candy man, do you need help?" I asked, walking to his side.

"Oh yes, please miss. I am trapped." He said in a voice one would expect from a piece of candy.

I pulled a burning beam off of his small body to find his legs melted. Taking him back with me would be easier than I guessed. He couldn't run from me.

"Oh Glob, my legs! Oh Glob why!" The candy man screamed. He sobbed, yet my heart felt no sympathy, though my stomach turned. I picked him up and held him under my arm. He didn't even protest. He was howling in anguish. As I came to the door, I wondered when I became so cold to the enemy. The enemies were people after all; just people Someone had picked up here and there.

I reached for the door handle and saw that my hands were covered to the wrist in soot and melted peppermint. It was gruesome really. It still didn't affect me like it should have. I opened the door as the smoke was caught on a breeze pushing the door, stinging my eyes, making the Peppermint scream. I stepped through the door and it closed behind me, refolding into the key.

Everyone stared at me.

"Excuse me," I said, handing the Peppermint to Barry and running down stairs. I reached the grassy area behind Bruce's store, fell to my knees and vomited. Everything in my stomach was black, my breathing was coming hard. I had inhaled a lot of that thick black smoke. I felt dizzy.

"Florence, are you hurt?" It was Bruce.

"No," I wretched. "I just breathed in the smoke." I felt his large hand on my back, soothing me with his touch. I tried to take deep breaths, but just ended up coughing.

"Just breathe, girly," he said.

"How's Finn? I couldn't see him."

"The healers gave him some sedative. He's gonna be asleep for the next few days. Was that a candy person?" He said, referring to the Peppermint Man. I shook my head 'yes'. "What happened there?"

"Don't know yet. We gotta ask the candy man."

I spent a day healing. I didn't stop throwing up until the morning after visiting South Camp. The Peppermint needed time to calm down. Bruce took the opportunity to make me rest. He convinced me that talking to Peppermint man was useless until he calmed down, and my body was begging me to rest. So, I decided to listen for a change, and took a day just to feel better. During that day in bed, I was finally given the report from the raid we fended off.

"When we found Finn the Human he was…" Barry paused. "Prince Someone had cut Finn's leg and was holding a sword to Finn's throat, but they weren't fighting. They were talking. Prince Someone was yelling at him, and Finn was yelling back. When Someone saw us, he ran off."

"Could you hear what they were talking about?" I croaked. My voice was horribly damaged and itchy. I hated the feeling.

"No. I wish we had."

It seemed I had questions for more people than just the Peppermint man.

Without my knowledge Bruce had gone about the task of making taffy, crafting new legs for the Peppermint. His name was Peppermint Butler and he worked in the Candy Castle for as long as he could remember. He had escorted Princess Bubblegum into the raid, but soon found himself lost in the smoke and fire. Bruce couldn't get anymore from him than that. He said, "Peppermint still seems loyal to the Princess, even though he's seen her 'do something horribly evil'." He indicated the candy man's words by using finger quotes. My eyebrow couldn't help but pop up.

'What does that mean?' I thought, pulling a brush through my lengthening hair. "Thank you, Bruce."

"So, what now? Do we let him go?"

I gave him a sharp look. He couldn't be that foolish, could he? He gave me a look too. He wasn't being foolish, he was being hopeful.

"No, we're going to play him. That fool is going to tell you _everything_."

A/N: I was supposed to be doing homework. I did this instead. Review, pweese!


	7. The Favor

**I own the story, Florence and Bruce**

**CHAPTER SEVEN:** THE FAVOR

After a few days, my knuckles are bloodied and broken. Slamming your fists into a peppermint for three days will absolutely destroy your hands. As I come down the stairs, Bruce can't even look at me. He's upset with me. He got attached to the peppermint during my recovery time. Now he hates me for beating him. He understands that it's part of a larger plan. A plan he doesn't know. A plan I haven't told him about just yet.

Bruce told me that the peppermint wouldn't tell me anything. He was right. The peppermint was strong. He loved Princess Bubblegum. In his eyes she had never done anything wrong until the raid. So she must have done something terrible.

"Today is the day," I told Bruce, and he finally looked at me.

"The day for what?" He looked worried.

"The day the Peppermint tells you everything."

Bruce seemed more than relieved. He thought I was implying today was the day we would kill the peppermint. I sighed.

"So how do we do this?" He asked.

"Easy. You 'break him out', take him to my place and he tells you everything." I say, rinsing my hands in the sink behind the bar. He gives me a quizzical look.

"How?"

"Ask him what happened."

"How do you know he'll tell me what happened?"

"Just trust me, Bruce."

"No."

I froze. I wasn't used to hearing 'no.'

"Wait… Someone did this to you didn't they?" He saw how I reacted, and knew he was right. Some one had done this to me before. It was less involved, but it happened to me.

"My mom was a real bitch."

We stood there staring at each other for a long time. He was evaluating me, deciding if he trusted me. Deciding if he still liked me.

"So… After he tells me what happened, you'll leave him alone? You'll let him go?"

"Yeah," I nod.

"You're lying. You're going to kill him. He knows where we are. He knows where Finn is. You're going to kill him so he won't tell Someone where you are. You're a coward."

"Bruce, we'd let him go and Prince Someone would be at our door. Do you know what that means? He would burn the village, kill you, kill me, kill Finn, cut off supply lines for a hundred miles in both directions, and for what? A peppermint?"

"A long time ago, you agreed to one favor. One favor-"

"Bruce, no-"

"One favor to use when I needed it most and this is it! Florence," he pleaded. "Please."

I couldn't believe how angry I was. Bruce was willing to dismantle the whole resistance for one life. I could feel fury in my toes. I wanted to yell things. I wanted to throw things. Instead I tried to calm myself and think of an alternative to slaying the peppermint.

"When he's told you what happened come back, and lock him up in my place."

"To await his death?" Bruce growled.

"No, if we can keep him penned in my place then he can live in there until the war is over." It was risky, but I didn't want Bruce to just run away with him, leaving the rebels vulnerable and without information. Bruce nodded.

"Thank you, Princess."

I didn't bother correcting him, and just waved him toward the stairs.

"This is what makes you different from him." Bruce said, taking my shoulders in his hands. I put one of my hands on Bruce's. He was right. I had mercy on my side. I had grace on my side. 'Now all I need is evil on my side and I can win,' I thought, letting dark humor get the best of my subconscious again.

"You humble me, Princess."

"You humble me, Bruce."

I hid as Bruce ran out with Peppermint Butler and then felt complete exhaustion take over my body. There was only one bed in the place, and Finn was passed out in it. I climbed the stairs and looked in at the soft warm bed as Finn lay on the left side of it. The right side seemed more than available. I cautiously climbed on the bed, between the covers, and then curled up. Snug as a bug facing Finn's back.

Then, just as I was drifting off, Finn rolled over, pulled me to his chest and kissed me right on the mouth.

"Morning, PB."

A/N: Please, review.


	8. Things Fall Apart

**I do not own Adventure Time with Finn and Jake**

**CHAPTER EIGHT:** THINGS FALL APART

"Finn, wake up," I said, shaking Finn's shoulder. But he didn't budge. His arm was firmly locked around my back. My eyes widened as he went in for another kiss, covering his mouth with mine. I couldn't help myself. I sunk into the sweetness of it. I felt myself kissing him back. It was tenderness I hadn't felt since… But it wasn't for me. It was for that witch Bubblegum. This had to stop. "Finn, STOP!"

"FLORENCE! Why are you in my bed?" His face grew crimson in large patches on his cheeks. I could feel my cheeks burn as well. He let me out of the embrace, but we were still impossibly close.

"I'm exhausted. I just wanted to lie here discreetly, but you were the one that rolled over and… And…" I could feel the anger and indignation fading as he touched his lips. He was realizing what had transpired.

"You called me 'PB'." I whispered, unable to look in his eyes anymore. He sighed heavily and rolled onto his back.

"Sorry," he grumbled, covering his face with his large hand. I noticed the mounds of scar tissue on his knuckles and was tempted to touch them. I used to love the feel of… I sighed. 'Is it going to be like this? Will every man remind you of him?' Feeling the heft of disappointment, and the weight of exhaustion it was taking everything in me to stay awake.

"It's alright, Finn."

"No one will tell me where Jake is. Tell me, Florence. Is he dead?"

"I don't know. South Camp was destroyed. Burned to the ground. We're trying to get more information, but the going is slow."

"I'm assuming Bubblegum attacked at South Camp, seeing as I was sliced up by Mr. Personality." He stated. I did everything I could to stifle a laugh. I had never heard Someone referred to as Mr. Personality, and it tickled my funny bone.

"Yes. That would be right," I confirmed.

Finn was quiet for a long time. A very long time.

"Finn, what was Someone after?" The question had been keeping me up nights, and I was hesitant to ask before. Now I wasn't concerned. He looked up at the ceiling, his expression changing.

"He's looking for B-Mo… Desperately."

My eyebrows knitted together and my mouth formed a concentrated 'o'. "What?"

"He's looking for B-Mo. Don't ask me why either. I don't know." He looked at me again and his blue eyes cut through me like they had before. I pulled the covers around my shoulders, feeling exposed for some reason.

"How did B-Mo go missing?"

"One night, at the valley camp we were sitting around the fire, he said goodnight early, went inside the tent, and we never saw him again. The popular theory is that he wandered off on his own because he didn't want to be part of this war."

"You don't believe it," I stated. I could tell by his tone.

"B-Mo is missing on purpose. He and Someone know why, but Someone won't spill and B-Mo is gone. I hope we _never_ find out why."

I couldn't help but agree. He was quiet again.

"Still sleepy?" He asked. I nodded. "Come here," he said, lifting his arm so I could put my head on his chest. For some reason, I just snuggled in.

"So, you were sleeping with Bubblegum?" I had to ask when he couldn't look at me. He might see the motivation in my eyes.

"Yeah. On and off since she married Someone. His ambition made him… Absent. I had always been there for her, so when it came to her needs, she knew I was there for her." He said it as if it didn't mean a damn thing, and maybe it didn't now. But it had before. It had mattered a great deal. Now I knew why he had wait five years to react to Someone's war on the free people of Ooo. He was in love with Bubblegum. He didn't want to upset her. Clearly, things fell apart.

"Is that all?"

"No, but you're tired. You should get some rest."

"Do you need rest?" I asked, sleepily.

"No, I'll keep watch." He said, stroking my hair. "Florence?"

"Yeah?"

"I liked your short hair."

I smiled, but didn't say anything else. Then I fell asleep thinking about how Finn the Human smelled like pine trees. Finally, something that didn't remind me of Prince Someone.

A/N: Review, preese.


	9. The Right Thing

**Author's Note: To clear up some confusion, Prince Someone and Princess Florence are original characters. They are NOT from the Adventure Time universe. They are from my brain.**

**CHAPTER NINE:** THE RIGHT THING

The water splashed over my face, dress, the bed. Someone had woken me by throwing water on me. I looked up to see Finn with an empty bucket. And he was saying something. Something that wasn't sinking in. He was saying….

"WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" He started pulling me out of the bed by the arm, seeing that I wasn't understanding.

"What? Why?" I said, hugging his waist as he hoisted me up. "I'm so tired Finn. Let me sleep." My eyelids started closing. They were so heavy. Finn pulled me to the closet, ignoring my protest. Then yanked some fur coats off their hangers, wrapping one around me. I realized I was standing on my own.

"Prince Someone knows where you are," he said, throwing boots my way. "Put those on."

They were stylish leather boots with fur lining. They looked to be just my size. 'They must have been Mary's,' I thought. I was slow to move and when I did everything hurt.

"C'mon, Florence! We have to go," Finn said, putting his own boots on. "Peppermint Butler got away from Bruce. Someone's army could be here any second!"

I stopped to listen for the telltale sound of horses' hooves, jack boots, screaming villagers that always followed Someone's army. All I heard was the village rushing around, trying to leave. I heard goats, the wheels of carts, panicked footfalls, shouting. Someone was on his way. Prince Someone. Prince Someone. Prince Someone….

I started shoving my feet into the boots, panicking, but still all my movements hurt. I wasn't just tired. Something was wrong. Then I remembered that Finn was hurt too. Where could we go? How much could we handle?

"Good, thank Glob. I thought there was something wrong with you," he said, pulling on a pair of leather snow pants. Clearly we were running off into the mountains. Maybe even to the tundra north of the village.

"There is something wrong with me," I said, feeling sharp pain crawl through my fingers as I gripped a back pack. "But we'll deal with it later." The concern on his face was so genuine. So tender. "Hurry!" I said, urging him now.

"Florence!" A voice called. My heart slammed again my ribs. I looked to the window. It was Barry.

"Barry, what is it?" I said, after breaking the window open. Panic was taking over.

"Bruce found out what you wanted to know," he said, coming to the window to speak low.

"Jake?" Finn asked, pressing against my back to ask.

"Jake is alive. I'm afraid… Lady Rainacorn fell to Bubblegum's sword. Jake was last seen tearing soldiers in half as South Camp burned. I'm sorry, Finn. No one knows where he is."

Finn and I stood speechless. _'Lady Rainacorn fell to Bubblegum's sword…' 'Bubblegum's sword…' 'Bubblegum's sword…'_

"I thought they were friends." I whispered, looking down at the ground.

"In war, there are no friends," Finn said. It was the first menacing he'd said, but I couldn't help feeling it was a true statement.

By the time a messenger came with news of Someone's army being twenty minutes away, Finn and I were out the back door of Bruce's place with two swords and a stumping axe. I prayed to Glob that Bruce would be okay. No doubt he'd be killed if he was caught. No doubt he'd get caught just to slow Someone down. Tears came to my eyes as Finn and I scaled the steep pitch of the Green Mountains. Everything hurt. It felt like there was a gritty material in all of my joints and pins in the bottoms of my boots. Finn's breathing was horribly labored. He was clutching his leg so hard his knuckles were white. But we climbed higher and higher until we could see the other side. To the Land of Snow where it was blindingly white.

No kingdom owned the Land of Snow. It was seen as useless, so it was used by the Snow-mads. They were roaming snow people that stayed in temporary shelters made of snow and ice. They made a good life for themselves. I had often considered running away to a Snow-mad settlement when I was younger, being trained for a life of devotion to my kingdom. Now it seemed a miserable way to live.

"C'mon. We gotta find some Snow-mads or we're gonna freeze to death." Finn said, gasping for breath. The thought of endangering more people gave me pause. 'Don't think about Bruce,' I told myself. It was afternoon. He was surely dead by then.

"C'mon, Florence. I know you're not feeling right. I'm not either, but we can make it," he said, offering his hand as we struggled down the side of the mountain.

"What's the point?" I asked, sinking down into the snow. Tears finally coming.

"The Land of Ooo is the point." He said angrily. "Freedom."

"But the people we love, they're scattered, or dead, or they hate us and want us dead," I said, saying more than I intended.

"I gave up everything I had for this conflict," he said, kneeling next to me, wincing as he did. "Because I knew it was the right thing to do."

"Has it been worth it?" I asked, wondering if it would ever mean anything to have fought so hard.

"Not yet, but it will be. When Ooo is free, when we're free, when the world can breathe easy; it will have been worth it." He said it with such conviction that I had to believe it. Until that moment I had been motivated by selfish reasons. Revenge being one of them. Even though I was terrified of Prince Someone, I still wanted to meet him with a blade. With my stumping axe. Never once during rebel meetings did my mind stray from the thought of revenge, but now Finn filled my head with noble thoughts of a world set free. Sure, that reasoning was something to hold up, but it would never be my true motivation. What pushed me in that moment was Finn's dedication. Finn would never give up. Finn would lead me right to Someone's doorstep and give speeches to the people as I put my blade through Someone's heart.

"I'm ready," I said, taking his hand finally letting him pull me up and guide me down the mountain side. 'I'm ready to do whatever it takes.'

**A/N: So, that's an update for you. This chapter was hard to write. I couldn't figure out the tone. I hope this one is decent. Lemme know. :3**

**PS. I think of Finn as Chris Evans and Florence as Scarlet Johannsen. FYI and junk.**


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